Branded childrenswear is huge business. Think Peppa Pig T-shirts, Snoopy pyjamas, Gruffalo babygros and Billy Eilish hoodies. Brands can amplify the consumer appeal of the simplest, bestselling products, which can lead to increased revenue, profit, and customer loyalty for retailers and manufacturers.

Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) is the leading European event for licensing and brand extension and the place to discover the hottest and newest brands ready for license. It takes place at ExCeL in London from 20-22 September 2022.

Welcoming thousands of European retailers, manufacturers and brand owners, BLE 22 is a colourful showcase of inspirational brand collaborations, future product ranges, the latest in product design innovation, and exciting new and emerging IPs.

Discover new brands for childrenswear

On the show floor, visitors will find over 200 exhibiting companies; from TV production and movie studios to publishing, art and animation, sports brands, heritage, gaming and more.

These companies will be showcasing thousands of brands ready for license, many of which would be perfect partners for childrenswear. Highlights include nursery staples like Sophie le Giraffe and Peter Rabbit. Also, pre-schooler delights such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Bing, Squishmallows, The Care Bears, My Little Pony, Gigantosaurus and Bluey. Characters for slightly older fans include Shaun the Sheep, Barbie and Jurassic World. Plus, lifestyle brands with tween and teen appeal like The Batman, Fortnite, FC Barcelona, Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z and Dobble.

Get fashionable

This year’s BLE theme is fashion, and there will be 10 live 15-minute catwalk shows over the three days. Fully choreographed, staged and individually themed, they will be a great source of inspiration for branded fashion.

A Kids Catwalk at 2pm on Tuesday 20 September will feature brands from NBC Universal (home to Minions and many more); Sony Interactive (home to the PlayStation and multiple chart-topping game brands); and IMC Toys (Cry Babies). A Mattel catwalk follows at 4pm. Mattel, of course, is home to Barbie, Hot Wheels and thousands of bestselling toy IPs. On Wednesday 21 September, visitors can enjoy a Sega catwalk, with a focus on Sonic the Hedgehog. The Smurfs and the Teletubbies will also strut their stuff at 2pm.

First time visiting?

For first-time visitors to BLE, as well as those new to licensing altogether, organisers are hosting free Orientation Sessions and Show Tours on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Simply meet at 9.30am in the License Global Theatre. Licensing U is also a comprehensive educational programme designed for those new to licensing. It includes five online content sessions taking place before BLE. There’s also concierge assistance to pre-book meetings and networking opportunities during the event.

Barbie x Fashion keynote

Childrenswear is a huge focus of BLE’s day one keynote – Barbie x Fashion. delivered by Mattel president and COO Richard Dickson, it will focus on the ultimate fashion and pop icon that is Barbie. Day two features a ‘Leaders panel: building a post-pandemic retail & licensing strategy’ keynote and ‘Forecasting the future of retail through consumer trends’ panel.

Brilliant networking

Once at the show, visitors can join the likes of Primark; Stradivarius; FASHION UK; George @ Asda; Sainsbury’s Tu; Next; John Lewis; ASOS, and GEMO. This is alongside thousands of other leading retailers and manufacturers that are registered to attend this year for in-person networking. Retailers can also make full use of the Retail Lounge – exclusively for retail attendees to mingle, gain product inspiration and host meetings – and meet brand owners and fellow retailers at the opening night drinks from 5.00pm – 7.00pm on the show floor.

Parade yourself

Finally, no visit to BLE is complete without taking a selfie with the much-loved character parade. The parade takes place at 11.30am on 20 and 21 September. Hundreds of characters have taken part in the parade over the years. For instance, The Gruffalo; Paw Patrol; The Hungry Caterpillar; Sonic the Hedgehog; Peppa Pig; Hello Kitty; Minions; Paddington Bear; The Cookie Monster; The Simpsons; Dennis the Menace; Asterix and many more.

Attendees can register for Brand Licensing Europe here for free.